Kelly Smith

BY JO ANNE LUGLIO BIERLY 410-378-332 The Conowingo Pool, on the Harford County side of the Conowingo Dam, opened for the season on June 16. The area near the pool, including the Visitor's Center, has been renovated, just in time for all the swimmers who hope to beat the heat. Also on the Harford County side of the Conowingo Dam, but upriver several miles, you will find the John S. Murphy VFW Post 7130 at 424 Broad St. in Delta and their Tuesday night bingo. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., early birds start at 6:30 p.m. and regular games begin at 7 p.m. For questions, call 717-456-5503.

On June 1, 2003 MARY J. SCALLY (nee Appel), beloved wife of the late John J. Scally; devoted mother of John H. Scally, his wife Margaret, Jacqueline S. Rose, her husband Bowie, Patricia Hines, her husband Earl, Sandra S. White, her husband Charles, Maureen S. Jones, her husband William, Kathleen S. Coleman, her husband Jeffrey, Gerard A. Scally, Stephen M. Scally and his wife Ruth; also survived by fourteen grandchildren. Friends may call at the family owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Rd (Beltway exit 26A)

The 60th annual McCormick Unsung Heroes banquet will be held tonight at Marriott's Hunt Valley Inn. A total of 105 athletes from 71 Baltimore City and Baltimore County public, private, parochial and independent schools will be honored. One male and one female athlete will be rewarded with the McCormick scholarship valued at $5,000 a year for each of four academic years. Art Berg, a world-class wheelchair athlete and best-selling author, will be guest speaker. Established in 1940 by the late Charles P. McCormick, the program recognizes unselfish team play and honors those who contribute substantially to their team's success without receiving acclaim.

Shannon Saltzmann and her teammates might not have walked away with the trophy from the NIKE Volleyball Festival in California this month, but her Virginia-based Capitals did bring back a lot of memories and plenty of knowledge about the game.The Capitals and two teams from Columbia -- the 16-and-under Lightnings and the 14-and-under Condors -- said they were more than happy with their performance, despite not winning."It was a huge tournament, and our team played really well together," said Saltzmann, who will be a senior at Centennial High School this fall.

Even when Centennial's volleyball team isn't performing at peak efficiency, the Eagles are usually too tough for their competition.Take last night's 15-7, 15-9, 15-6 victory over Atholton. The Eagles sputtered at times with their serves, recording a season-high nine service errors, including four in a sloppy second game. In the first game, they allowed Atholton to turn a healthy 10-1 Centennial lead into an uncomfortable 10-7 advantage.But in the end, Centennial had all the answers -- solid passing, great defense and the potent front row of Shannon Saltzman, Laura Taneyhill and Carly Cangiano.

Latanya Blue hit all seven free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to lead No. 2 St. Frances to a 73-70 victory over St. Peter's, N.Y., in the semifinals of the William Penn Cup at the Diamond State Classic in Wilmington, Del.Blue, who finished with 19 points and seven assists, hit five straight free throws to keep the Panthers (8-1) ahead of St. Peter's, a Staten Island school ranked No. 6 in the East Region by USA Today. The Panthers, 17-for-23 from the line for the game, were 10-for-10 in the fourth quarter.

While he was sharing drinks and talking shop at a favorite watering hole, Kelly Smith and a co-worker were joined by a mechanic who told them of a funeral he'd recently attended. His friend, he said, had been buried with cartons of cigarettes, a Zippo lighter and an issue of Playboy magazine. Smith wasn't surprised. As public relations manager for the National Funeral Directors Association, he had seen this phenomenon before -- laying loved ones to rest with their cherished possessions.

The Atholton Raiders made their mark in volleyball last year with a young team that stumbled early, grew up quickly, and when it counted most, was strong enough to land in the Class 2A state playoffs.After losing several starters to graduation and forming one of the moreyouthful teams he's had in his seven years at Atholton, Coach Jon Peterson envisioned the same type of season from the Raiders this year.At this early stage, the Raiders may have fooled their mentor. With Friday's 15-11, 15-13, 15-9 victory over Howard, Atholton improvedits record to 3-1 overall, 2-1 against the county.

The first season of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland's A Conference gets tougher to figure by the day. More proof came yesterday afternoon in Baltimore with the easy time No. 12-ranked Mercy had against No. 19 St. Mary's in a 54-28 win. The Magic was coming off a decisive 78-48 loss to top-ranked St. Frances on Friday, while St. Mary's, which beat those same Panthers earlier in the season, was looking to complete a perfect week that...

Wilde Lake's softball team surprised seventh-ranked Atholton, 8-7, in nine innings yesterday at Wilde Lake. The loss dropped the defending county champion Raiders out of a first-place tie with 13th-ranked Long Reach. The Lightning, which needed nine innings to beat Hammond, 5-4, on Wednesday, is 11-1 in the county with six games remaining. Atholton, which plays host to Long Reach May 8, dropped to 10-2. Wilde Lake, which lost 6-0 to Atholton earlier in the season, took a 6-4 lead into the seventh inning.